Bill C-2 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Income Tax Act

This enactment amends the Income Tax Act to reduce the second personal income tax rate from 22% to 20.‍5% and to introduce a new personal marginal tax rate of 33% for taxable income in excess of $200,000. It also amends other provisions of that Act to reflect the new 33% rate. In addition, it amends that Act to reduce the annual contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts from $10,000 to its previous level with indexation ($5,500 for 2016) starting January 1, 2016.

Income Tax Act

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley. He has done an amazing job in the House since 2004 on behalf of his constituents, and I will certainly do my best to follow such an amazing performance.

It is an honour to rise again in the House to speak on behalf of my wonderful constituents in Cowichan—Malahat—Langford and to take part in the debate on Bill C-2, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act. As we all know, this bill would make various changes to the Income Tax Act, but today I will concentrate on two of them: the changes to the income tax brackets and to the contribution limit to the tax-free savings account.

The Liberals were elected on the promise of bringing tax relief to the “middle class”. Indeed, the words from the Liberals' campaign website painted a cozy picture for the average middle-class Canadian. Let me just read some of the words: “We will give middle class Canadians a tax break, by making taxes more fair. When middle class Canadians have more money in their pockets to save, invest, and grow the economy, we all benefit”.

It sounds pretty rosy.

Before I get to the crux of the matter with the tax changes, I want to speak first about the tax-free savings account because this is on something that the NDP can agree on with the Liberal Party.

When the Conservatives were in power, we heard time and again that the TFSA was an excellent tool for helping seniors. I know very well from hearing from seniors across my riding that the TFSA contribution limit would be of little help compared to many of the NDP's proposals. It was a step in the right direction to lower the TFSA contribution limit placed by the Conservatives, because the higher limit yields disproportionate benefits to the richest Canadians. The TFSA contribution limit increase would have cost the treasury billions of dollars in the decades to come. In fact, it is estimated that the combined federal–provincial cost would have been $132 billion by the year 2080. Where is that money going to be recouped?

We know that the Conservatives' responses included the point that it was not a problem for the previous prime minister's grandchildren. We heard Joe Oliver's comments on that mentioned in the last speech. However, we in the NDP believe in creating a sustainable future where no one is left behind. The problem lies in what we have seen through many Liberal governments in the past. They acted on some small measures but really did nothing to deal with the issues that middle- and working-class Canadians face. Presently, we are dealing with a very difficult economy. There are lay-offs and the power of our dollar has been shrinking by the week. This is making our already-precarious seniors' living and food insecurity even more insecure.

Now I will speak to the matter that I am looking forward to addressing, the so-called middle-class tax cut.

The Liberals have decided not to use their first piece of legislation, Bill C-2, to deal with our ruined economy but to propose lowering taxes in a way that would not benefit 60% of Canadians. In my riding, if someone earns the average income of $37,000 a year, he or she would receive precisely zero dollars in benefits. We know that the price of vegetables has gone up by 10% in the last year and we have seen a report from the University of Guelph that predicts that food prices will again rise faster than inflation. This price of food disproportionately affects the most vulnerable Canadians and is something that hurts the real middle class in this country. The seniors and indigenous people in my riding are some of the most adversely affected by this drastic price increase. If we get to the people who are lucky enough to get into the middle-class tax bracket, the maximum benefit that many of them would see, as alluded to earlier, is precisely $50. That figure is negated when we take into account the cost of inflation. In fact, that $50 would basically be eaten up by five stalks of cauliflower over the year at the supermarket with the way food prices are going.

It is important for us to point out the contrasts here today. I want to show members some of the figures that we have from Statistics Canada: for the average office worker earning $39,000 a year, the benefit would be zero dollars; for hairstylists earning an average of $27,000, zero dollars; and even the fish plant worker earning $26,000 a year, it would be zero dollars. However, I do want every Liberal member of Parliament to understand they are giving themselves a tax break of $679. Moreover, every parliamentary secretary on the government side is giving themselves a tax break of $679. They are doing it for lawyers, well-paid bankers, and so on. However, for the average middle-class Canadians, they will get precisely zero dollars under the bill.

We have a constituency week coming up next week when we will all get to travel back to our ridings and meet with our communities, which I am very much looking forward to. However, I would love to see how Liberal members of Parliament will explain to the so-called common folk in their riding, the middle-class Canadians, what the real deal is with their tax break, and how they are giving themselves $679 in tax breaks, but for the rest of the people in the riding, precisely zero or $50.

This middle-class tax cut is nothing more than smoke and mirrors. The Liberals have never been able to define precisely what the middle class is, and they have never answered the question. The median income, defined as the halfway point between the higher half of a data sample and the lower half, and probably a good place to define the middle class, is $31,000. However, this group will receive precisely zero dollars.

On the proposal for middle-class tax cuts, the legislation before us would work for families that make between $166,000 to $200,000. They fall among the richest 90% to 95% of Canadians. I believe this action seems to suggest that either the Liberals are not here to help the real middle class or they believe the middle class is people earning the 90th percentile of income.

The cost of helping such a small portion of the richest Canadians will exert an incredible amount of pressure on the government's books. In fact, it is estimated that this tax cut overall will cost our revenue stream $8.9 billion over the next six years. This plan was a piece of election hyperbole that was meant to seem progressive, but is actually detrimental to our middle and working classes.

Liberal governments of the past have been able to flash left and then turn right while they were in power. We in the NDP do not intend to let the Liberals get by without a struggle on that front.

This change is not the way we take care of our most vulnerable population like seniors, let alone the actual middle class. This is not the change that our most vulnerable citizens were looking for.

The NDP is here not just to point out the inconsistencies in the Liberal plan, but to propose alternatives. We will be doing so here and in committee. A progressive opposition will stand for the values of fairness for all instead of an economy rigged for the highest earners. We believe in helping the real middle class, and not just the high-income earners that the Liberals have labelled as the middle class.

We have developed proposals that will fix the Liberal plan, which would make it correspond with their campaign promise to Canadians. We believe that if we lowered the first income tax bracket by 1%, then 83% of taxpayers would benefit from this proposal. This solution would benefit many more Canadians, and the cost difference would be minimal.

We could further minimize the cost to the treasury if Liberals would just agree with the NDP to increase corporate tax rates by just a smidgen more, and ask corporations to pay a little more of their fair share instead of downloading costs onto Canadians.

I will end my speech by quoting a few validators who have studied the bill.

According to the research chair in Taxation and Public Finance at the University of Sherbrooke, couples with a combined income of $250,000 a year would gain about $1,100 in tax cuts, while couples with a combined income of $75,000 a year would get an average of zero to $4.

Finally, Gordon Pape, certainly no friend of the NDP, wrote the following in The Globe and Mail:

Finally, let's consider low-income earners. There are a lot more of them than those who fall into the middle-income category.... The Liberals didn't offer them any relief so the only break they get is from the indexing of the tax brackets.

Pape continues that they “are the ones that really could have used a tax cut but somehow they got lost in the election hyperbole. Too bad.”

[Nathan Cullen, NDP, Skeena—Bulkley Valley, BC]

I will split my time with the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford.

Madam Speaker, I join this debate with some enthusiasm. I think we have struck upon something here today in the Liberals' centrepiece in their tax promises to Canadians. Bill C-2 attempts to do two things. One is to address the TFSA, the tax-free savings accounts, and bring the limit back down to $5,500. Two is somewhat regressive changes to the tax code that the Liberals are bringing in. After so much talk and time spent on their efforts to help the middle class, the best answer we have had from a Liberal today, in an attempt to define the “middle class” is he said that it was not up to him to define it. Then he went on to repeat how much help the Liberals were giving this class of Canadians that Liberals refuse to define.

If anybody else finds that odd and somewhat worrisome, let us look through the tax plan that the Liberals have put forward. Revenue Canada breaks down those filing taxes into five groups: the bottom 20%; second 20%; third 20%; fourth 20%; and up to the very top tier of 20% income earners.

Let us just take the middle group. That is an odd way to define “middle class”, to use the middle group. That group, under this Liberal tax plan, gets very little. Perhaps that is why Liberals do not want to actually define the middle class. If they just keep referring to it over and over again, Canadians who are in the middle class, in fact, might think that the Liberals are talking about them when looking at this tax plan.

Let us look at those Canadians who are earning what might seem as middle-class money. Let us take one group that can be defined and get specific. Those earning between $48,000 and $62,000 get $50 under this Liberal tax plan. Perhaps Liberals do not think those are middle-class Canadians, but I am going to walk out on a limb and say they are. They might think that is nice. However, one increase in energy bills in northern British Columbia will take care of that $50.

Now, those earning quite a bit more, up in the top 20%, let us say, between $166,000 and $211,000, will get more than $800 back, not $50.

Liberals can stand in the House today and argue that somebody making $200,000 a year needs the 800 bucks. I know some of my Conservative colleagues used to make the same arguments, but at least they had the effrontery to do it.

What worries me is that the Liberals continue to reference a group of Canadians without ever defining it, hoping that Canadians might be tricked into thinking that they might be talking about them. When they get their tax returns back they will look at $50 extra and ask what happened to that big middle-class tax help that was meant to come. What happened to that election that we watched week after week where the Prime Minister, who is now being echoed by his MPs here in the House, talked incessantly about the middle class and yet is unwilling, unable to define it? Then, when the proof comes in the pudding, when it is time to actually see what those in the middle-income brackets get out of this, it is little or nothing.

In fact, for 18 million Canadians who will file taxes next year, do members know what they get out of this Liberal tax plan? Nothing. Not a thing.

Liberals say they are helping out so many people. This is actually a trick.

We have to give credit where credit is due. This is something Conservatives used to do. They would throw out a big number and say, “We're helping eight million, nine million people. Aren't we wonderful?” They would pull a muscle patting themselves on the back so often. We would say, let us see how that actually proportions out. Is it an equal amount of help across those eight or nine million people? Well, no, of course not. The help sloshes up toward the upper end. It gets better the more you make. That is the way the Canadian tax system works. If the Liberals make the cut that they are proposing to do in Bill C-2, those earning north of $200,000 would see a benefit of close to $815. Those who are not fortunate, not able to earn that kind of money, would see something in the order of $50 or, if they are really unfortunate, nothing.

We have to place this into some context, as some of my Liberal colleagues speaking today have.

The economy is in significant and serious trouble, I would argue, as many have in part, due to previous policies by Conservative and Liberal governments. Over the past decade, we have lost half a million value-added jobs in factories and plants that were good family-supporting jobs. Half a million jobs disappeared over that time and there was not a whisper of worry from the previous government and not much from the Liberals when they sat in opposition. They said this is transition.

I suppose it looked like a cute turn of phrase for the Prime Minister's speech writers when he was in Davos, suggesting that we are known for our resources, but we will leave that behind and we will be known for our resourcefulness, as if somehow those two things do not go together, that being resourceful with our resources should be the primary role and governing directive of any government in a country as wealthy as Canada with our endowment of such natural resources. Somehow the Prime Minister and his speech writers wanted to contradict those two concepts of our economy, that it is no good to be known for our resources, tut-tut, that is where we get our hands dirty. We will be known for our resourcefulness and our creativity. That is something counterpoised.

I live in a resource-dependent part of this country. I would suggest that the Canadian economy, as is being borne witness every day on the stock exchange, is still somewhat reliant on the natural resource sector. I hope the Prime Minister has walked some of this stuff back. Sometimes these cute phrases work so well in the drafting room, until they are put out and real people actually hear them and say, wait a second, is he talking about me? Is he talking about my job in the forestry sector or the mining sector, in the petroleum and gas sector, in the green energy sector? I am being resourceful with our resources and I would like to continue to be. That was not a lot of help.

Now let us talk about something that is good. It is important to be hopeful and optimistic and see where work hard will get us. The rolling back of the TFSA limit from $10,000 to $5,500 is important simply because this exercise that the Conservatives undertook was incredibly expensive to the treasury in a very short period of time. We know that the people who were able to max out at $5,500 a year, and certainly people who had $10,000 extra at the end of the year burning a hole in their pocket, were not the middle class, and certainly were not the lower end of the economy. They were folks of means.

We also know from the finance department's own research on this that with the introduction of the TFSA in 2009, simply another retirement and savings vehicle, retirement rates did not actually increase. If we bring in a new policy and it does not do what it is meant to do, then it is worth reconsidering. The government should be credited for at least doing that. A price tag of $13 billion to the treasury in 15 short years is expensive. If it is not helping retirement as so many of my Conservative colleagues said it would, then this is a problem.

Picking up from a government, as the Liberals are now doing, that blew $150 billion on top of the national debt, lost half a million manufacturing jobs in the process, and left a very fragile and weakened economy, it is very important to define the middle class if we are going to help it. If a doctor cannot actually name the problem, I would be pretty suspicious of any prescription that I got from that doctor. Here we are with Liberal after Liberal getting the term “middle class” in as often as they can, peppering it through their speeches. Yet in very simple direct questioning one after another, the best answer we have had from a Liberal so far is that “it is not my job to define”. Fascinating. I guess it is just a Liberal job to talk about it.

If we are unwilling to define it, that causes a lot of people consternation and here is why.

When we break down and get into the actual details of what the Liberals are proposing, the vast majority of benefit is going to those who need it the least. A vast majority of Canadians, some 18 million tax filers this year, will get nothing from the Liberal government and are only going to be disappointed. Expectations are high. The red team across the way made a lot of promises, cited time and time again how help is on its way. After the many dark years under the previous government, here was a new government coming in that understood the middle class. While the leader did not come from the middle class, he understood what it was to pay electricity bills and pick up the kids from school. They were going to go ahead and bring something in that would actually help Canadians struggling to make ends meet.

When we look at the actual numbers we realize that those at the very top end will get 16 times more benefit out of this Liberal plan than those in the middle, which is an infinite amount more than those at the very bottom.

[Randy Boissonnault, Liberal, Edmonton Centre, AB]

Madam Speaker, what we are most proud of as a government when it comes to Bill C-2 is the fact that we are giving a break to the middle class across the country and we are going to allow nine million Canadians to have more money in their pockets at the end of the day.

If I may be more precise, we are taking the tax rate for Canadians making between $45,282 and $90,563 from 22% to 20.5%, and we are simply asking Canadians who make more than $200,000 to pay slightly more in tax. That is a progressive way to make sure all Canadians can make ends meet.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Madam Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise on this occasion as the member of Parliament in the 42nd Parliament of Canada. The people of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke have my sincere gratitude for giving me the honour and the privilege of being their representative in this sixth consecutive election.

Now that the election is over, I renew my pledge that I never forget the people who made this possible, the good people of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke. They can be assured that I will continue to fight for the issues that they tell me are important. As always, I am their servant.

There are many individuals to whom I owe a great debt of gratitude for the confidence they have placed in me, for their hard work, and for the long selfless hours they put in to build a winning streak that has become our standard for successful campaigns.

For the many newly elected MPs who are not aware of the history, the Ottawa Valley became the eastern beachhead of democracy in the year 2000. That marked the beginning of meaningful change as Canadians entered the 21st century, and from the period 2006 and on, a period that will be fondly remembered as the good old days of responsible leadership while today's Conservatives take a short break from government.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to our entire campaign team, my spouse Jamie, and the many hundreds of volunteers who demonstrated what a truly grassroots campaign Ottawa Valley style is really all about.

Before I begin my comments regarding Bill C-2, I want to make it fundamentally clear that the Conservative Party I am proudly a member of stands for lower taxes and less government interference in the daily lives of Canadians. The best anti-poverty program is a job. We do not create employment by taxing, borrowing, and spending more than we can afford.

My constituents support lower taxation. They sent me to Ottawa to reduce government and to fight for lower taxes. Bill C-2 is about a misleading campaign promise that was presented to a distracted public as reducing taxes at the expense of raising taxes for others, when in fact all this does is raise taxes for everyone.

In the case of this so-called middle-class tax cut, it was claimed during the last election that taxes would be reduced on the middle class by asking the wealthiest Canadians to pay more. Canadians have since learned that higher taxes for the wealthiest Canadians will not begin to pay for this campaign promise that is the basis of the legislation before us today. The promise was made without even the most superficial analysis. It was made to get elected.

More from the wealthiest does not go far among the rest of the population. The middle class will end up paying for its own tax cut, plus the interest on billions borrowed to cover the tax change, and to cover successive deficits that were promised by the Liberals, a promise they intend to keep, and more, and that should be meant to be broken.

The mark of Liberal generosity is with other people's money. Deficits are just deferred taxes, which is our children's financial inheritance. The irony is that ample evidence shows that government loses revenue when it targets individuals who can afford to pay for avoidance, including by moving their financial affairs to places like Bermuda, which was the tax haven of choice of the last Liberal prime minister before the current occupant.

The legislation before us today, being introduced as the first finance bill in the opening session of a new Parliament, and before the federal budget, when these tax measures could easily have waited to be included in the next federal budget, is intended to fulfill a signature campaign promise. I get that.

It was former Ontario Conservative Premier Mike Harris who set the bar when it comes to keeping one's election promises, so I understand that a political party does not want to be accused of lying to get elected, which is what a government is doing when it breaks its promises. For the Liberal Party, it would seem, then, that there are two types of campaign promises: those made to get elected and those meant to be broken.

I actually had an individual who worked for a major Canadian chartered bank tell my office that he believed that once elected, the Liberal Party would do what it had always done and break election promises it had made to appeal to those confused between election promises made to get elected and election promises made to be broken. He could not believe that the Liberals would attack the middle class by tampering with TFSAs, which, in his professional estimation, were better than RRSPs as a savings instrument, particularly for seniors, and certainly for young families aspiring to be middle class and saving for their first home.

If the debate about Bill C-2 is actually about helping the middle class, there are many other campaign promises that should be broken.

A measurement of a vibrant middle class in a society is home ownership. A recent study by the Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis has identified those under the age of 45, families with two income earners, who cannot find affordable housing without a long commute as being those most under pressure.

I know a dual-income family in Toronto where both spouses are lawyers, and they are shut out of the housing market, where a starter, fixer-upper home costs $1 million in the neighbourhood where they rent.

TFSAs are being used by young families to save for their first homes. Housing is a need, just like food or water, and if we need it, there is a greater and greater pressure on us to get it, regardless of the cost.

What is occurring at the moment in places like Toronto and Vancouver is not sustainable. The fear in places like my riding of Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, in eastern Ontario, is that eventually, the dream of home ownership that has died in the big cities will start to die in areas like ours, smaller local areas, and that rising taxes, electricity costs, transportation, and other big-city problems will also contribute to barriers to home ownership locally.

Take away the dream of home ownership in Canada and we take away the middle class. It is no secret in Ontario that this province is struggling because of a misguided energy policy that has caused the exodus of jobs, fleeing some of the highest electricity prices in North America, to U.S. border states. Lower electricity prices will spur economic activity. Lower energy costs are good for consumers and manufacturers.

Where there was once a burgeoning middle class based on blue collar manufacturing jobs, the decision, in the words PMO principal secretary Gerald Butts puts in the mouth of the Prime Minister, to transition away from manufacturing jobs has cost the middle class dearly in Ontario.

I urge members of the Liberal caucus and the rest of Canada to pay attention to Ontario's problems. The same people who ran the corrupt McGuinty provincial government have fled the sinking provincial ship and are now backroom operators in Ottawa, and they promise to take the entire country down the same deficit-spending, tax-the-rich, let-them-eat-cake attitude that is so toxic in Ontario today.

Focus on the one thing that would really improve the economy and help the middle class: create employment. Avoid the incessant talk about the environment. The greed energy act in Ontario, which was brought in under the guise of helping the environment, caused the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, of good-paying jobs, in Ontario's manufacturing sector.

[Kevin Sorenson, Conservative, Battle River—Crowfoot, AB]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House to speak on behalf of my constituents in Battle River—Crowfoot. Battle River—Crowfoot is a new constituency. The boundaries changed in the last election, and I am fortunate enough to represent a new northern section. I want to thank them for their support in the last election. I pledge to work very hard for them in Ottawa.

I also want to thank my election campaign team and long-term supporters. In six elections, they were ready to campaign and help out, not just in my riding but around the country. Obviously I want to thank my family. I want to thank my wife Darlene and our children, Kristen and Ryan, and Kristen's husband Matthew for their love and support over the many years of doing this. I know all members know that without the support of their families and those they love most, they would be unable to do this. Whether it is my immediate family, my parents, or others, I want to thank them.

We are debating the Liberal government's destructive tax plan for all Canadians, including the middle class. It tears down many of the efforts that were developed to help families and workers, to ensure that taxes remained low for all Canadians, that there were balanced budgets, and that jobs were created for Canadians. These measures are affected by part of Bill C-2. The former government ensured that economic growth for Canada's economy was a priority.

I neglected to inform you, Madam Speaker, that I will be splitting my time with the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

Since this bill was tabled in December of last year, we are very aware that the numbers of the Liberals simply do not add up. The Liberals' assault on higher income earners will not work. This is a tax hike on those who traditionally create jobs and grow our overall economy. It is a tax increase on professionals and on the educated. It is a tax increase on those who work hard and succeed.

By increasing taxes on job creators, we would be discouraging their success and jobs for Canadians with the passage of this bill. Canada's higher income earners would immediately launch many measures to protect themselves from paying such high taxes. The Liberals will not realize the rise in tax revenue that they are counting on to finance their small increase in benefits to the middle class on which the bill is supposed to deliver.

Not only are the high income earners going to task their accountants with pursuing and implementing measures that will ultimately prevent them from paying higher tax increases, but some of them will abandon their lucrative endeavours in Canada to reduce their incomes so they do not have to pay the increase. They will move their projects, in some cases offshore, Canadians will lose jobs, investors will follow these business leaders to their new locations, and Canada will lose investments.

We have seen this under former Liberal governments. When I ran in the elections in 2000 and 2004 as a new young MP coming in, like many here today, the top issue of the day was what we called the brain drain. We asked ourselves what we would do to bring back Canada's young, to bring back those who had moved to the states or Europe with their potential futures. What would we do to solve the brain drain? Economists are again predicting significant brain drain from Canada as the result of Bill C-2.

The federal government will not have the tax revenues to fund the schemes put forward by Bill C-2. The worst part of Bill C-2 for my constituents is the reduction of the annual contribution limit for the tax-free savings account, from $10,000 at its previous level to $5,500 starting January 1 this year.

Right now many families are experiencing the pain of unemployment. Many of my constituents work for companies that service the oil patch, and their lives are being disrupted. Households are being disrupted. Savings are being used in an attempt, in some cases, to save family homes, or to make the next payment.

TFSAs have been a very effective tool for all Canadians, young and old. Tax-free savings accounts are being cashed in by many constituents of mine in Alberta right now. Families are using their tax-free savings accounts to try to reduce their economic vulnerability to the oil price and also, in some cases, to their pending unemployment.

Meanwhile, the Liberal government is refusing to help get our petroleum products to seawater ports so we can export our products to our customers who are waiting and wanting to buy our products. When that happens, unemployment climbs. We are seeing that right now.

Any family that is not suffering significant loss of jobs is looking to save whatever amount of money it can. Families are saving now for the coming hard times they know will happen under the Liberal government.

The Liberals have promised numerous budgetary deficits that will expand our nation's debt and ultimately lead to higher taxes. In other parts of Canada, places not yet suffering from the downturn in the oil patch, some Canadians are still managing to put money into their retirement funds.

Many Canadians are saving as much as they can. Many Canadians are simply trying to park their savings, because they know that the downstream effects of the current downturn in Canada's energy sector will soon hit them in their pocketbooks.

We found out just a couple of days ago that Japan adopted a negative interest rate policy. Now where money is being held in the bank, it is now looking at ways of taxing it. In an uncertain climate there, people are sitting on their savings.

The loss in federal revenue from the oil patch in the coming years is going to affect Canada. Make no mistake, it will affect how the Liberal government will operate. It will affect how the Governor of the Bank of Canada sets rates. It will affect all Canadians, in the rural parts of Canada, in big cities, and in the remote areas of Canada.

Already, after three or four months, Canadians have no faith that the government will help the people in business in Canada's once-prosperous sector. They know about the coming hard times their families will suffer during the failure of the Liberal plans. They know they will see massive amounts of tax dollars that the federal government does not have being spent on misguided efforts, job creation efforts, and token attempts at diversifying local economies. The way the Liberals will deliver on those is yet to be seen. We are still waiting for a budget.

All I know is that Canadians are disappointed with a lack of action from the government. Many Canadians know that the Liberal government is in serious trouble. Based on Finance Canada's estimates, the new Liberal tax plan amounts to an average of $6.34 per week for those individuals who qualify. Canadians feel betrayed; $6.34 to the middle class, and yet taxing those who are job creators.

We know this small tax break is not enough to stimulate our economy. Nor will throwing money at the middle class stimulate growth and innovation. It does not help create jobs. We have not seen anything from the government that is going to help with innovation, investing back into companies, or anything that is going to help create jobs.

Our Conservative government reduced taxes more than 140 times. This modification to the income tax rate that the Liberals are bringing forward is not significant tax relief and it comes with a high price tag in deficit financing. The policies of the government will be economically destructive. We know it will be for many decades down the road.

The Minister of Finance has already conceded that this tax plan is not revenue-neutral. In Bill C-2, it will plunge the Government of Canada further into deficits and debt. I guess that is what the Liberals deliver on. This is debt that will eventually put our social programs at risk, a debt that our children and our grandchildren will have to pay off. This bill fails.

Consequently, in representing my constituents, I will be voting against Bill C-2.

[Dan Vandal, Liberal, Saint Boniface—Saint Vital, MB]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to add my voice to today's discussion on the government's middle-income tax cut, which we introduced in December 2015.

Before I touch on the legislation, I will begin by taking a few moments to extend my congratulations to the Minister of Finance and his parliamentary secretary for pursuing one of the most comprehensive pre-budget consultations in recent history.

The 2016 pre-budget consultations began when the Minister of Finance held a Google hangout with eight Canadian universities on January 6 to get the views of students and faculty on how to best grow the economy. On January 11, the minister and his parliamentary secretary struck out on a six-day tour in an effort to speak to as many Canadians as possible. They hosted upwards of 26 separate meetings and round tables with stakeholders and Canadians across the country, beginning in Halifax.

In addition to these meetings, the minister spoke to full-capacity crowds at the Halifax Chamber of Commerce, the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, and the Surrey Board of Trade, with a total attendance of well over 1,500 people.

For those Canadians who have not been able to make it out to meet the minister and the parliamentary secretary personally, they can continue to share their ideas and comments through various online channels, such as the Your Money Matters Facebook page and hashtag #pbc16.

Through our pre-budget consultations, we are engaging with Canadians, looking for input on how the federal government can best support the middle class and those working hard to join it, meet infrastructure needs and help grow the economy, protect the environment and meet local needs, as well as ensure that the most vulnerable do not get left behind. It is an ambitious list, to say the least, but one that respects Canadian values of honesty, hard work, and fiscal prudence.

I would like to thank all those who have and will contribute to the pre-budget consultations, whether in person or online. This input will be vital to ensuring that Canadians can direct and focus the decisions that our federal government can make. More importantly, Canadians will be able to see their contributions when the 2016 budget is tabled.

I want to assure Canadians that we are listening and we hope that this renewed interest by Canadians will make a better country for all of us; for our families and for our communities. We are hearing that Canadians want to push forward with our plan to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class, and help the vulnerable.

We have a clear mandate, and expectations are high. First and foremost, we are here to serve Canadians. They expect us to implement our ambitious economic agenda. They want a government that is open to the world. They want a more transparent government.

No one will be surprised to hear me say that the economy is going through a very difficult period. However, in the face of this real challenge, there is also real opportunity to put in place the conditions to create long-term growth that will create good jobs and help our middle class—the lifeblood of our economy—prosper. The plan for growth is more important now than ever.

The good news is that we have a plan to grow the economy, and we have already begun to implement the plan: we introduced the middle-class tax cut in December and tabled Bill C-2.

As of January 1, the middle-class tax cut is putting more money in the pockets of nine million Canadians each year. We are focused on smart investments that promote economic growth while maintaining a commitment to fiscal responsibility. We will improve economic prospects for our middle class, which is the backbone of our economy. We simply cannot call ourselves prosperous as a country if our middle class is struggling. This is why Bill C-2 is so important to Canadians.

I will now touch on the specifics.

Our middle-class tax cut and accompanying proposals would help make the tax system fairer by reducing the second personal income tax rate to 20.5% from 22%; introducing a 33% personal income tax rate on individual taxable income in excess of $200,000; returning the tax-free savings account, TFSA, annual contribution to $5,500 from $10,000; and reinstating indexation of the TFSA annual contribution limit.

We expect nine million Canadians will benefit from the reduction of the personal income tax rates, which are to take effect on January 1 of this year. Single individuals would see an annual tax reduction of $330 per year, and couples would see an average tax reduction of $540 every year. This measure would put more money in the pockets of Canadians to save, to invest, and to grow the economy.

In addition, the government is introducing a new personal income tax rate of 33% that would apply to individual taxable income in excess of $200,000. This means that only Canada's top income earners are expected to pay more tax as a result of the government's proposed changes to personal income tax. As with other bracket thresholds, the $200,000 threshold would be indexed to inflation.

Finally, the government is returning the tax-free savings account annual contribution limit to $5,500 from $10,000 effective January 1 of this year. Returning the TFSA annual contribution to $5,500 is consistent with the government's objective of making the tax system fairer and helping those who need it most. When combined with other registered savings plans, a $5,500 TFSA annual contribution limit would permit most individuals to meet their ongoing savings needs in a tax-effective manner. Indexation of a TFSA annual contribution limit would be reinstated so that the annual limit maintains real value over time.

Finally, let me quickly review some of the other measures that are included in today's legislation.

The bill proposes to change the current flat top taxation rules applicable to trusts to use the new 33% tax rate. It proposes to set the tax on split income to the new rate of 33%. It would amend the charitable donation tax credit to allow higher income donors to claim a 33% tax credit on the portion of donations made from income that is subject to the new 33% marginal tax rate. Finally, the bill would increase the special refundable tax and the related refund rate imposed on the investment income of private corporations to reflect the proposed new 33% personal income tax rate.

There has never been a better time to make targeted investments to support economic growth in this country. We are confident that our plan will accomplish this, and that is one reason why I am optimistic about our prospects going forward. Given that, I encourage all members to support this legislation.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Madam Speaker, the tax cuts that we have proposed for Bill C-2 have already started helping nine million Canadians, and together with the Canada child benefit will help nine out of 10 Canadian families.

I am proud to stand with a government that is there to help middle-class families. We are just asking the wealthiest people, 1% of Canadians, to pay a little more.

[Salma Zahid, Liberal, Scarborough Centre, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Saint Boniface—Saint Vital.

I rise in the House today support of Bill C-2, an act to amend the Income Tax Act, or as I prefer to call it, an act to finally give a helping hand to middle-class families and those hoping to join the middle class.

Our government believes in listening to the people. For years, Canadians have been telling us one thing loud and clear: they need a hand. Middle-class families have increasingly been struggling to make ends meet. Too many families are having to make difficult choices: should they pay the rent or put food on the table; should they save money for their children's education or save for a secure and comfortable retirement; do they buy a new suit for their job interview or a birthday present for their son. These are not easy choices and they are causing stress and hardship for so many families.

I have the privilege of representing the riding of Scarborough Centre. We are a community of middle-class families. Scarborough families are exactly the sort of families that we need to be helping. We need to help families like one I met when knocking on doors in Scarborough last summer. I spoke with a mother outside her door in an apartment tower who told me how her husband was working full time at a warehouse and she worked nights in the service industry. They hardly got to see each other. Still, each cheque did not go quite far enough. She was trying to find a second job so they could keep up with the bills. However, she was worried about who would take care of her two young daughters while she was away. Like so many families I met, they are struggling with bills that are always going up and income that is not keeping pace.

Middle-class families are the backbone of our country. These are hard-working families willing to put in the long hours and make the sacrifices necessary to build a better life for their children. They value hard work and are instilling those values in the next generation. However, middle-class families have gone without a raise for too long. It is time we take action to help them.

I was honoured to stand with the Prime Minister at a grocery store in the Leaside neighbourhood of Toronto last fall when he promised the first act of a Liberal government would be to lower taxes for middle-class families. I am pleased to say, that promise made is a promise kept. That is Bill C-2.

As of January 1, nine million Canadians will be receiving tax relief. Bill C-2 amends the Income Tax Act to reduce the second personal income tax rate from 22% to 20.5%. It also creates a new personal marginal tax rate of 33% for taxable income in excess of $200,000. What does that mean? It means that in order to help those who need help the most we are asking the wealthiest to give just a little more.

We are also reversing the previous government's costly and misguided plan to nearly double the annual contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts. Raising the limit would only help the wealthiest Canadians at a cost of several hundred million dollars over the next five years, while doing nothing to help middle-class families. There are not many families in my riding who could afford to make the maximum $10,000 annual contribution to their TFSA, not when many are more concerned with paying the rent. In fact, in 2013, just 6.7% of eligible Canadians made the maximum TFSA contribution.

Our government was elected to help those who need help the most, and that is exactly what we are going to do.

Our tax changes will benefit over nine million Canadians in 2016. A single person will see an average annual tax savings of $330, and the average couple will save $540 every year. That is money that will help families pay the rent and buy groceries, and it will make it a little easier to put some money away for the future. It is a helping hand for those who need it the most.

Over the holidays I had the opportunity to visit the Scarborough branch of the Salvation Army, and the Dorset Park Community Hub in my great riding of Scarborough Centre. I saw so many young families visiting the food banks. I saw mothers pushing their children in strollers who needed help to put food on the table, and workers and volunteers struggling to keep up with the demand. It makes one's heart break to think those young children would be going hungry.

This is Canada. We can do better, we must do better, and we will do better. Bill C-2 and our middle-class tax cuts are just the beginning. There will be much more to come when the Minister of Finance brings the next budget to this House. A key element will be the new Canada child benefit, which will deliver targeted help to those families who need it the most. When fully implemented, the Canada child benefit will help nine out of 10 Canadian families, and lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty. Canada needs a healthy and prosperous middle class. When the middle class succeeds, we all succeed. We are blessed to live in one of the greatest countries in the world. We are blessed with a population that is educated, hard-working, and industrious. If we give them the opportunity to succeed there is nothing they cannot do.

This government was elected on a plan to grow the economy, and we have already started. With the changes to Bill C-2, a fair tax system, which asks the wealthiest among us to pay just a little more while giving help to families who need it the most, is being delivered.

With the upcoming Canada child benefit and our historic investments in transportation and social infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for economic growth and a stronger economy that will allow every Canadian to reach his or her potential to build an even stronger, more prosperous country.

I encourage all hon. members to join me in supporting this important legislation and middle-class families. Let us ensure that Canada's middle class gets the help it deserves.

The House resumed from January 29 consideration of the motion that Bill C-2, an act to amend the Income Tax Act be read the second time and referred to a committee, and of the amendment.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise in the House today to speak to Bill C-2, an act to amend the Income Tax Act.

Since this is the first opportunity for me to address the House at some length, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the good people of Perth—Wellington for bestowing on me the honour of serving this House as their member of Parliament. In all I do, I pledge to the good people nothing but my hard work on their behalf.

As all members know, none of us can do this job without the love and support of our family. I am certainly no exception. I could not have gone through this 11-week campaign without the love and support of my wife Justine, who has been ever patient; my darling daughter Ainsley, who was a lot younger when we started the campaign and is growing like a weed; our extended family, my parents Bill and Darlene and my in-laws, John and Laurie; and our countless campaign team members, including people like Keith and Matt, Tim and Tim, Sue, Irene, Cynthia, Lee, and Ross.

The members of that team have all been with me throughout the campaign, working from sun-up to sundown on my behalf and on behalf of the good people of Canada to advance their vision for a more perfect country. They campaigned through all weather conditions, from the heat of the summer to snow our last week in the campaign. They were there with me and with us throughout the campaign.

The great riding of Perth—Wellington comprises a number of municipal organizations. We have seven lower-tier municipalities, two single-tier municipalities, two county governments, and dozens of small towns and villages. During the campaign, we criss-crossed it all. By election day, we had knocked on over 30,000 doors from Harriston to Harmony, Mount Forest to Milverton, from Stratford to Staffa to St. Marys, and all points between.

We heard one consistent message at the doors: families were concerned about the economy and they were looking to the government to extend a helping hand. At every doorstep, in every community hall, in every church basement, and on every main street, voters were not hesitant in expressing their views. They appreciated programs like pension splitting for seniors, income splitting for families, the universal child care benefit, and the first-time homebuyers' tax credit. Each of these initiatives provided targeted tax relief to Canadians who actually needed it.

Now we have a new government, and I think it is important to highlight some of the contrasts between the current government across the way and our previous Conservative government.

When our former Conservative government came to office in 2006, we also introduced a Bill C-2. That bill was the Federal Accountability Act. It strengthened conflict of interest rules, expanded access to information to crown corporations, increased transparency in lobbying activities, and overhauled political financing rules to ban not only corporate donations but union donations as well.

Now, let us fast-forward a decade and here we are with another Bill C-2. However, let us make no mistake. This bill is nothing but smoke and mirrors in an effort to implement a misguided and misleading Liberal campaign promise. Under the provisions of this Bill C-2, the most benefits would go to those people making a significant amount of money. Those making over $100,000 a year would be quite happy with the measures that would be brought forward in Bill C-2. However, for those families who are struggling, for those families in Perth—Wellington who are trying to get by on $40,000 or $45,000 a year, this bill would do absolutely nothing.

I said, when I was first elected to this place, that I would try to work collaboratively and co-operatively with all members of this House, but I simply cannot support a measure that is not in the best interests of my constituents. Let us look at my riding of Perth—Wellington and the people who have given me the honour of representing them. Under the provisions of this Liberal bill, as many as 84,000 of my constituents would see no benefit from the bill. Nearly 80% of the residents of my riding would have no tangible benefit from Bill C-2. That is why I am voting against it and why I think all members on this side of the House will be voting against it. We understand that we need to make bills and policy in the best interests of our constituents who have sent us here to speak on their behalf.

My riding is overwhelmingly made up of middle-class Canadians. They are people like Steve and Bettie from Listowel who have three children and are trying to save for their children's education and pay their bills. This bill would do nothing for them, but it would give people making $200,000 a significant tax break. This is wrong.

What is more, Canadians were told during the election campaign that these measures would be revenue neutral. We have found out that this simply is not the case. The parliamentary budget officer said that these Liberal measures would actually add $1.7 billion to the structural deficit that Canada's new Minister of Finance is quickly building.

Where will this $1.7 billion come from? Will the Liberals cut the tax credit for first-time homebuyers? Will they cut the tax credits for families who put their kids in sports and artistic activities? Will they cut tax credits for students or apprentices? We simply do not know, because they have not told us.

It is not just income taxes. Bill C-2 would reduce the contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts for more hard-working Canadian families and seniors. TFSAs have quickly become one of the most effective and popular savings tools. They allow families to save more for a rainy day, whether it is a down payment on a new home, money to make much-needed renovations to their existing home, or to plan for their retirement.

Do not just take my word on it. Experts in the business community recognize the value of a higher contribution limit for the TFSA. In fact, one chief actuary from a well-respected HR firm said, “I think it’s really quite a positive move for retirement security in general”. Who said that? It was the chief actuary from the Toronto-based HR firm Morneau Shepell. I would encourage our finance minister to perhaps talk to his former colleagues about the benefits of the TFSA and the increase in contribution limits for all families.

During this past election, I spoke often about TFSAs and often got the most positive response from young people, those who recognized this was an effective tool for them to save for their future. It is ironic that the Liberal government, which claims to represent the millennial generation, would rather give millennials a selfie than an effective and worthwhile savings tool.

In December, I received an email from a constituent, Tyler, from Mount Forest. He told me the reduction in the TFSA limit would personally affect his ability to save for the future. This is simply not right.

Bill C-2 does nothing to provide meaningful tax relief to the Canadians who actually need it. It leaves way too many Canadians out in the cold. That is why I am proud to vote against the bill and in favour of my constituents in Perth—Wellington who will not benefit from it.

[Karina Gould, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development]

Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time today with my colleague, the member for Honoré-Mercier.

Madam Speaker, I am honoured to be able to take this opportunity to speak about the government's middle-class tax cut, a tax cut that would provide needed tax relief to nine million Canadians.

First, I would like to elaborate on our government's ambitious economic agenda that sets Canada on the path of economic growth.

No one will be surprised to hear me say that the Canadian economy is going through a difficult period, some regions more than others. While there are encouraging signs with our biggest trading partner, the United States, which is facing an upswing in its economy in 2016, there remain concerns that slower growth in certain emerging markets such as China has the potential to stifle prosperity. Also, the Bank of Canada revised downward its economic forecast twice over the last 12 months and undertook two rounds of interest rate easing.

Nevertheless, in the face of this real challenge, there is a real opportunity to put in place the conditions to create long-term growth, growth that will create good jobs and help our middle class prosper, the lifeblood of our economy. Indeed, the good news is that we were elected on a plan to grow the economy, and we have already started.

In December, we introduced the middle-class tax cut. This amendment to the Income Tax Act is what we are to discuss in the House today.

After 10 years of weak growth, our government is redoubling its efforts to ensure that Canada is poised and prepared to compete and succeed in these challenging economic times. However, it is clear that we cannot go at it alone. It means that we need collaboration.

A key component of our plan is to work closely with provincial and municipal governments to deliver results for Canadians. From infrastructure projects to responsible environmental stewardship, we are providing needed leadership. Our government will work in a renewed spirit of collaboration with our provincial and municipal partners. That work has already begun, with the first ministers' meeting held by our Prime Minister shortly after our government was sworn in, as well as by the finance ministers' meeting just before the Christmas holidays.

Our priority is to implement our agenda while pursuing a responsible fiscal plan suited to the challenging economic times. Indeed, we fully intend that our plan for economic growth will benefit all Canadians through targeted investments.

Let me reassure members that our government is not daunted by the challenges before us. We are cognizant of our fiscal realities and we know that our plan is more important than ever. We will work together with both the private sector and our provincial and municipal counterparts to advance our shared priorities across a range of fronts. Some of these areas include making targeted investments in public infrastructure that will grow the economy, get Canadians moving, and open up more cost-efficient trade options for our exporters, with the focus on public transit, green infrastructure, and social infrastructure.

Working together with all of the provinces and territories for a cleaner environment and to fight climate change, Canada has a plan to invest additional funds each year in clean technology producers so they can tackle Canada's most pressing environmental challenges and create more opportunities for Canadian workers. The government will also invest to support innovation and the use of clean technologies in the natural resources sector.

As our Prime Minister has emphasized, a strong economy and healthy environment go hand in hand. We are committed to leaving our children and grandchildren with a more sustainable and prosperous country.

The government's plan will be realistic, sustainable, prudent, and transparent. The plan will also include further details on measures that are intended to steer Canada toward a more prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable economic future.

Before turning to the contents of Bill C-2, I would like to mention that the government's plan includes proposals to create a new Canada child benefit. We aim to have payments under the new Canada child benefit begin in July 2016. The proposed Canada child benefit would simplify and consolidate existing child benefits. It would replace the universal child care benefit, which is not income-tested. The new Canada child benefit would be better targeted to those who need it most.

Our government will also be working collaboratively to implement the Canada child benefit, which will lift hundreds of thousands of Canadian children out of poverty and place them on a surer footing for a brighter future.

We are committed to a strong and growing middle class. We want to ensure that all Canadians have a fair and real chance to succeed. The legislation before the House today takes an important first step in this direction. Bill C-2 would cut the tax rate on income earned between $45,000 and $90,000 in 2016 to 20.5% from 22% and introduce a new tax rate of 33% on income in excess of 200,000. As of January 1, the government is putting more money in the pockets of about nine million Canadians each year through our middle-class tax cut. This is the smart and fair thing to do.

Recently, the Minister of Finance and the parliamentary secretary travelled across the country asking Canadians directly what our government can do to better support the middle class. They met with indigenous leaders, business leaders, cultural leaders, with the intent of putting Canadians' views front and centre and engaging in discussions to find practical solutions to the challenges and opportunities they are facing. These pre-budget consultations continue online. The response rate and comments received have been tremendous. With over 146,000 Canadians reached to date, this has been the largest pre-budget consultation on record.

Through these consultations, Canadians confirmed that they want a government that delivers on strengthening the middle class and helping those working hard to join it. The measures in this bill would help strengthen the middle class. That is a priority for the Government of Canada.

During the pre-budget consultations, it also became increasingly clear that Canada's economic outlook has changed since the election. This only reaffirmed the government's commitment to the path we were elected to follow, but, more importantly, by engaging with Canadians we have been able to consider new perspectives and refine our plans to be included in the future federal budget.

The government's approach to consultations recognizes that collaboration is essential to delivering real change. The government has committed to and already demonstrated its willingness to listen, engage, and collaborate with members from all parties to identify ways to find solutions and avoid escalating conflicts unnecessarily. Given what we have already heard from Canadians and many members of other parties, I look forward to discussing and debating how best to serve Canadians.

The tax relief proposal in this legislation would help millions of Canadians. It would give middle-class Canadians more money in their pockets to spend, invest, and grow the economy. I encourage all members of the House to vote for this important legislation.

[Karen Vecchio, Conservative, Elgin—Middlesex—London, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today I will be sharing my time with the hon. member for Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa.

I am honoured to rise today to speak on Bill C-2. This is my maiden speech, and I wish to start by thanking the people of Elgin—Middlesex—London for giving me the opportunity to represent them in the House of Commons for the next four years.

I would not be here if not for the amazing volunteers and friends, but most of all my incredible family. To start, I know that as I speak today my mom and dad are watching these proceedings. I would like to thank my parents, Patricia and Harold Martyn, for all of the opportunities and support they have always given me. As the daughter of people who farm turkeys and pigs, I understand hard work and commitment, and I thank them for instilling these values in me. Whoever thought the girl from Sparta would be sitting in the House of Commons.

To my siblings who have always held me accountable, and doing so with love, a huge thanks for believing in me: Linda, Ann, Paul, and my in-laws, Greg, Scott, Trish, Lisa, Pete, and David. I thank them all. To Sandra and Bill, a.k.a. Nana and Pops, who have always been there for me, I love them both.

Making this decision to get into federal politics was not an easy decision, but I truly had a head start. My mentor and former boss, Joe Preston sat across this aisle from 2004 to 2015. “Trust me” was a common phrase used daily in our discussions. Today I would like to thank Joe for encouraging me. Without his support, this would not have been possible.

Now for the hard part, naming the people I miss every day as I serve this amazing country: Dakota, Garrett, Marissa, Hannah, and Christian. I hope from this new chapter of my life they will realize that anything is possible, will believe in themselves, and surround themselves with good people. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for them.

Finally, to Michael, my better half, the guy from band camp whom I married, I miss our evening walks, but I am definitely thankful for Facetime, or this journey would never have been possible. Although we are 640 kilometres apart, he is always with me. I believe in him, just as much as he believes in me, and I look forward to kicking off our bucket list in the next 20 years.

Elgin—Middlesex—London is an incredible riding. It is filled with beautiful lake harbours, rich agricultural land, small and large vibrant businesses, but most of all, great people. The volunteers not only on my campaign but throughout this riding helped mould me and educate me.

I would like to personally thank all the people who got me here, including Brian, Fran, Francine, Marci, Whitney, Jeff, Jen, Betty, Ena, Blake, Bob, Mae, Terry, Reinhardt, Dan, Shirley, Dean, Bridget, Melissa, and all the residents on Crescent Ave. I thought if I went fast, no one would know if I missed them. I send a special thanks to Ninja Turtle Noah, Maddie, Lauren, and Sarah.

To the ladies in the office, Cathy, Kaylie, Jena, and Kim, knowing that they are a part of the team makes me confident that Elgin—Middlesex—London is in good hands.

It is with all of these wonderful Canadians in mind that I stand in the House to oppose the proposed alterations to the Income Tax Act. Canadians have utilized the tax-free savings account since its introduction in 2009. This program has provided Canadians with incentives to develop attitudes of economic responsibility.

TFSAs are helpful tools for Canadians who are seeking to save or are preparing for unforeseen economic vulnerability, a tool used by many of my constituents in Elgin—Middlesex—London, both young and old.

The current Liberal government has proposed a reduction in the maximum amount of funds that Canadians can invest in these accounts per year. Unfortunately, the government does this on the false pretence that doubling of the TFSAs only benefits the highest earning Canadians rather than just the middle class.

On the contrary, statistics demonstrate that this investment tool is utilized by many middle-class Canadians. Half of those holding TFSAs earn less than $42,000 a year. In fact, 60% of Canadians who take advantage of the TFSA's limit earn $60,000 or less a year. What is more, in 2015, 600,000 Canadian seniors invested in TFSAs, maximizing their yearly deposits while earning less than $60,000 a year.

CARP, Canada's association for the fifty-plus, was in favour of increasing the limit the TFSAs to help seniors form fiscally responsible plans for the future. When the Conservatives raised the limit on TFSAs, the majority of Canadians supported that decision. Lowering the limit on TFSAs will do absolutely nothing for the low-income families, including financially burdened Canadians, to which the government must remain accountable.

The proposed changes in Bill C-2 will negatively affect Canadians by noticeably reducing their incentive to save for the future, creating a heavier reliance on government support during financial crises. Further, it will limit the choice of Canadians.

Why put up roadblocks for people who want to engage in responsible saving practices? Why remove the sensible avenue for saving, which costs the government very little?

Bill C-2 would do more than limit the choices available to the middle class. It would also reduce the amount of attention given to the vulnerable people in Canadian society. Instead of worrying about nitpicking a program that already works for Canadians, the Liberal government should be seeking out programs and initiatives that would actually aid in giving a hand up to this country's most vulnerable people.

The current government needs to continue to support programs such as the housing first initiative, which was undertaken by the previous Conservative government. This initiative was directly aimed at ending homelessness by identifying those most desperate in Canadian society and ensuring they were given a real opportunity for self-advancement. By seeking out these programs, the current government would have the ability to ensure that its efforts to end social issues do not go a mile wide and an inch deep. Spending well, rather than just spending, is the key to improving social issues today. Unfortunately, spending responsibly does not seem to be the current government's strongest attribute.

These tax cuts are aimed at making the public feel better about Canada's current position during this time of economic uncertainty. However, these cuts are not enough to provide true relief for Canadians being affected by the dipping dollar. It will take much more than just tax cuts to regrow the Canadian economy. This remedy is a mere surface solution to a much more serious problem.

Even more indicative of the Liberals' spending habits are the alterations to revenue that Bill C-2 would cause. Originally, the Liberals claimed that their new tax programs, including the lowering of the ceiling of the TFSA, would be revenue neutral. However, the tax bracket changes contained in this bill would actually cost the government $8.9 billion in the next six years. Since the government failed to accurately project and report these financial results, why should we trust the Liberals' promises that they will aid Canadians in the long run?

My constituents in Elgin—Middlesex—London have addressed this issue to me personally and are concerned about these changes. All age groups from all tax brackets have been using this method of saving their money for the future. Young adults have been putting their money away through TFSAs to invest in new homes, families have been using it to invest in their children's education, and many have been using it as a retirement tool.

As the official critic for families, children, and social development, I can assure members that I have spoken to many constituents and Canadians who want to see the ceiling of the TFSA contributions remain at $10,000 per year.

I look forward to continuing to hear from my constituents in the great riding of Elgin—Middlesex—London and to working with all Canadians in my new role. I would like to thank this House and my hon. colleagues for indulging me and for the opportunity to speak to this very important piece of legislation that would affect all Canadians.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Madam Speaker, I am assuming that my hon. colleague is new to the House. I have yet to hear a Conservative talk about the drawbacks of a particular tax break. That is a new one to me. Nevertheless, I will address the issue at hand.

During the campaign, we talked about how the tax savings measures we are talking about are a benefit, as most economists would say, to the middle class. I would like to remind him that the Canada child benefit is going to provide a great benefit to all Canadians with young families, as we talked about earlier.

The Conservatives continue to brag about the 2% off the GST. I was wondering if perhaps my hon. colleague would like to stand now and talk about the benefit that provided.

We are talking about thousands of people being lifted out of poverty, despite the numbers he puts out there.

In this particular situation, this is a great way for us to begin to invest in the middle class by providing the tax relief contained in Bill C-2 and by providing the benefits we will announce in the budget. I guess the overall answer for that is to stay tuned.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame, NL]

Madam Speaker, I did not have a chance the last time I spoke in the House to thank the constituents of Coast of Bays—Central—Notre Dame for putting me back in office. I would like to do that now. The vast majority of them have been doing so for five elections now. I keep testing the limit every time I run out there. Nevertheless, I want to thank them for their generosity and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to represent them in the House of Commons in the nation's capital. Indeed, it is the opportunity of a lifetime for all of us to sit in the House of Commons.

I am honoured also to talk about a bill this morning that we talked about much during our campaign. We talked about it as a way of helping the middle class of this country grow Canada's economic engine. We faced challenges as we started the campaign, and the challenges continue to this point. Right now, we have challenges in certain aspects and geographic areas of this country that are certainly unprecedented. I talk of the price of oil and natural gas. I also talk about the fact that many of the provinces also find themselves in a precarious situation given the fact that a lot of their revenues are based on royalties and taxes they collect from this particular sector. We also have a low dollar, something that for many people may produce some opportunities but in other cases could provide many challenges. It too is at an unprecedented level of less than 70¢ to the American dollar now.

I want to talk today about Bill C-2 and some of the measures we hope to bring forward that would provide some tax relief to Canada's middle class. As I said before, the middle class is the economic engine of this country. When I say the middle class is the economic engine of this country, I am talking about the individual talents of those individuals and their ability to provide a living for their families.

For example, in my area of Newfoundland and Labrador the greatest exports right now in dollar value alone would be seafood exports. We also have mining and forestry and many other sectors with great exports. To be honest, one of the greatest and most exciting exports that we have right now in central Newfoundland, the area that I predominantly represent, is the people and their talents.

We do have skilled people in the oil and gas sector but we also have many skilled people in other sectors such as mining. They have a skill and a trade that they export around the world. Each and every week I travel from my home riding to Ottawa or to other parts of the country, I run into people that I have grown up with or I talk to people that I have met in my tenure as a member of Parliament. These people talk to me about the areas where they have been or where they are going, such as Russia, the North Sea, northern Africa, or Alberta, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia right here in Canada. In the field of hydroelectricity, they have travelled to Quebec and Manitoba. It is phenomenal how they do this. They travel vast distances. They go away for weeks at a time then return home and bring that wealth home with them. This is a precarious position for them right now, given the situation in the oil and gas sector. Some people would say that the reason they have created that value is the oil and gas itself, but I would disagree. What created that value for them was their own talent and ability to adjust to the world markets. On the one hand, I am worried about the price of oil and gas in this country and around the world, but on the other hand I am not worried because of the versatility these individuals have shown over the past while. The majority of them are certainly in that middle-class income bracket.

I am pleased to participate in this important discussion on the government's middle-class tax cut. My objective today is twofold. First, I want to provide the House with a quick assessment of our economic and fiscal situation and, second, I want to tell members why the middle-class tax cut would help grow our economy.

As we embark on an agenda of economic growth and long-term prosperity, there is no doubt that we are facing considerable headwinds as I discussed earlier. Globally we continue to experience what International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde famously called “the new mediocre”. In its latest economic outlook in January, the IMF expects global growth to pick up modestly to 3.4% in 2016 and 3.6% in 2017. This is down 0.2 percentage points for both 2016 and 2017, compared to its October 2015 world economic outlook.

Though the recent performance of the U.S. economy is encouraging, the European and Chinese economies are cause for concern. We have seen this happen in Europe now for the past seven years and most recently with the Chinese economy. Although China's GDP is very large and is still growing, it is not growing as much as it did in the past four to five years. Many if not all of us here have experienced the benefit of global trade and have had conversations with people in business in our ridings who deal with many Chinese companies. Members, of course, know of what I speak.

As I mentioned earlier, global crude oil prices remain at less than half of what they were in mid-2014 due to persistent global oversupply and softening demand. What is happening beyond our borders has real and tangible consequences for us all.

In Canada, our economic performance in the first half of 2015 was poor, mainly due to the collapse of oil prices in 2014. Consider this. Last April, just to put some numbers on this, the government projected an oil price of $71 a barrel by the end of this year. As I speak, oil is now trading at about $30 a barrel, less than half the projected price. As I mentioned earlier, coming from Newfoundland and Labrador, I know how we are hit directly and indirectly by the resulting large hole in our provincial budget. We are directly hit, of course, because our offshore exploration has diminished and it is our offshore supply that directly benefits us in the way of royalties and taxation for our province, and indirectly through the employment that it creates, including for individuals who travel around the world in this particular sector.

We know that growth will be lower than was expected in the last budget projections. This has important implications for our currency and our fiscal situation. The good news is that real GDP growth resumed in the third quarter of 2015. The IMF, it its latest economic outlook released January 19, expects growth in Canada to pick up over the next two years in relation to 2015. We also maintain an enviable position of having a low debt-to-GDP ratio, abundant natural resources, and one of the most educated, intelligent workforces in the world.

Our policies will strike a balance between fiscal responsibility and controlled investments that promote economic growth. One of the most important components of this is restoring middle-class economic progress, which is, as we all know, the backbone of our economy and has been since our inception for close to 150 years now.

This is why one of the government's first orders of business back in December when we arrived was to table a notice of a ways and means motion to cut taxes for the middle class. This was the right thing to do for our economy. The proposed middle-class tax cut and accompanying proposals will help make the tax system fair so that all Canadians have the opportunity to succeed and prosper.

Specifically, Bill C-2 proposes, first, to reduce the second personal income tax rate to 20.5% from 22%; second, to introduce a 33% personal income tax rate on individual taxable income in excess of $200,000; and third, to return the tax-free savings account annual contribution limit to $5,500 from $10,000 and reinstate indexation of the TFSA annual contribution limit.

I will expand on the three points.

The first one is the reduction of the middle-income tax bracket, which is taking effect January 1. It is expected that about nine million Canadians will benefit from this measure in 2016. Single individuals will see an average tax reduction of $330 per year, and couples will see an average tax reduction of $540 per year.

Second, the government is introducing a new personal income tax rate of 33% that will apply to individual taxable income in excess of $200,000 per year. This means that only Canada's top income earners are expected to pay more tax as a result of the government's proposed changes to personal income tax rates. As with other bracket thresholds, the $200,000 threshold will be indexed to inflation.

Third, the government is returning the tax-free savings account annual contribution limit to $5,500 from $10,000, effective January 1, 2016.

These are some of the issues that we discussed during the campaign, including my colleague for Cape Breton—Canso. He was just here and talked incessantly about how wonderful his riding is and how hard it is for him to get around his large riding. He likes to talk about all these new policies we are bringing in to help the middle class in that beautiful area known as Cape Breton.

I can reassure members that the change to the TFSA is not retroactive. The TFSA annual contribution limit for 2015 will remain at $10,000. However, returning the TFSA annual contribution limit to $5,500 is consistent with the government's objective of making the tax system fairer and helping those who need it the most. When combined with other registered savings plans, which we are all familiar with, the $5,500 TFSA annual contribution limit will permit most individuals to meet their ongoing savings needs in a tax-efficient manner.

Indexation of the TFSA annual contribution limit will be reinstated so that the annual limit maintains its real value over time. This is referring to the consumer price index and how we will tie the limits to the increase in inflation.

Finally, before I conclude, I would like to highlight some of the other measures that are included in today's legislation, Bill C-2.

The bill proposes to change the current flat top rate of taxation rules applicable to trusts to a new rate of 33%, which is in line with the 33% tax rate as we proposed. The bill proposes to set the tax on split income to the new rate of 33%. It would amend the charitable donation tax credit to allow higher income donors to claim a 33% tax credit on the portion of donations made from income that is subject to the new 33% marginal tax rate. Finally, it would increase the special refundable tax and the related refund rate imposed on investment income of private corporations to reflect the proposed new 33% personal income tax rate.

Also, the government will introduce proposals in the upcoming budget to create a new Canada child benefit, which will take all of the benefits and put them into one tax-free Canada child benefit. This is something that has been talked about in my riding for quite some time. The biggest complaints were about benefits from government that suffered from tax clawbacks, which affected all benefits no matter what they were. We have now put forward this Canada child benefit that puts the tax aside for the sake of and benefit of our families. I look forward to the budget in the spring to talk about this.

Of course, nowadays there is an added pressure regarding things such as child care and child spending. Therefore, this is one of the proposals I look forward to in the upcoming budget that we talked about in the campaign, which Canadians overwhelmingly accepted as a way of financially helping themselves during their child-rearing years.

All these initiatives demonstrate that our sights are clearly set on the future. This legislation will help strengthen the middle class by putting more money in the pockets of Canadians to save, invest, and grow the economy. More broadly, it will help grow our economy in the context of a difficult global economic climate so that all Canadians benefit.

I heard some of the debate earlier, and I appreciate some of the concerns the opposition put forward. Of course, we have taken a strategic approach to provide a benefit to middle-class Canadians, especially those facing tough times.

To address these tough times in the future, I look forward to the budget, as I mentioned earlier, with things such as the Canada child benefit, which I think will enhance a way of life for those bringing up children now. For those who are suddenly unemployed, the situation is very difficult. As we deal with the situation in the next few months and certainly within the next few years, my colleagues, no matter what party they belong to, would certainly agree with me that we have challenging times ahead.

Again, for those provinces dependent on revenues from the oil and gas sector, and I speak of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and my own province of Newfoundland and Labrador, there are difficulties ahead, certainly when it comes to social programs. There will certainly be added pressure, but we believe that measures taken, such as those contained in BillC-2 and in the upcoming budget, will help to alleviate some of those concerns.

For the budget coming up, consultations are going ahead. I would advise all members to conduct consultations in their ridings, as I will. It is a perfect opportunity to get back to our ridings as members of Parliament. I am travelling to 15 communities in an area the size of Germany. I wish all members the best, because I know that travel can be very taxing on our families, but it is certainly worth it.

In my situation, I know what I will hear. I will hear a lot about the resource sector. I am going to hear a lot about the challenges that lie ahead but also about things like skilled trades and infrastructure spending to help spark the economy and to help communities deal with transit and their future investments.

I will leave it at that for now. I look forward to the questions and comments from my hon. colleagues.

[Guy Caron, NDP, Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to rise in the House as the NDP's finance critic to debate Bill C-2, which was introduced in December and which is now being debated in the House.

I had the opportunity to ask the Minister of Finance a question earlier today after his opening remarks. Unfortunately, I did not get an adequate answer. I did not get an answer to the fundamental question raised by this bill: how does the Liberal Party define the middle class?

This is a fundamental question, because since the election, the Liberal Party, which now forms the government, has boasted about making tax cuts for that much talked-about middle class. However, as the parliamentary budget officer's report very clearly and succinctly states, the middle class will get nothing from the tax cuts the Liberal government is promising.

With Bill C-2, there is the good and there is the bad. I will start with the bad, and then talk about the good.

Any definition of the middle class must be based on a common definition. One way to define it would be to use the median income, which is $31,000 a year per person in Canada. That means that half of Canadians earn less than $31,000 a year and the other half earns more than $31,000 a year.

Will someone earning the median income benefit from this tax cut? No. In fact, those earning $45,000 or less a year will not benefit at all from the tax cut promised by the Liberals. Even those earning between $45,000 and $90,000 a year will only receive part of what was promised. The devil is in the details. In reality, someone earning $50,000 will probably only receive twenty or thirty dollars.

Taxpayers earning more than $90,000 a year will benefit the most from this tax cut. Even someone who earns $200,000 a year will receive the maximum from this tax cut. An individual would have to earn $210,000 a year before receiving less, due to the new tax bracket, but they would still receive a large part of this reduction.

If we take this definition of the middle class, whose members earn around $31,000 a year, and exclude all those whose income is among the top 20% and those whose income is among the bottom 20%, then we have a middle class that makes up 60% of the population. The range of income of that middle class would be between $20,000 and $60,000 a year. A very small portion of those people would benefit only slightly from the tax cut.

If we take the median income, people will receive nothing. If we take the income that everyone associates with the middle class, in other words, $45,000, people will receive nothing. Those who will receive the biggest slice of the tax-cut pie are the top 20% income earners. That is not the middle class.

When the ways and means motion was tabled, we made a counter-proposal because if we really want change, and considering that on October 19, Canadians voted for a tax cut for the middle class, then this tax cut has to be given to the middle class.

That is why we proposed a change to the Liberal proposal. Instead of targeting the second tax bracket, as the Liberal government wants to do, we should change the first tax bracket so that a larger portion of the population can benefit from such a tax cut. Our proposal seeks to reduce the first tax bracket from 15% to 14% to ensure that all taxpayers, those who pay income tax, can benefit from this change.

Our proposal seeks to give people earning the median income a tax cut as high as $250 annually, as those people are currently receiving nothing.

Someone who earns $200,000 per year and who will get a tax cut worth about $600 would be forced to pay a portion because of the higher tax rate and the new bracket that we would leave in place.

It is clear that the Liberals' proposal is merely a smokescreen. In his response to my question about the Liberal Party's definition of the middle class, the minister did not answer the question. He simply said that this is just the first step and that the next step is the child benefit. We have not seen that yet. Maybe it will actually be a good thing for families with children, or maybe not—we will see. However, that does not answer my question.

This measure will not really help the middle class at all. A child benefit might help families with children, but it will not do a thing for single people, couples without children or seniors. Any of those people who earn less than $45,000, and especially if they earn less than $90,000, will not benefit at all from the Liberal promises for the middle class, even if their income is lower.

It is important to look at everything the Liberals are proposing. We believe that our proposal would help the middle class much more effectively than the Liberal measure, which, as I said, will benefit only the top 20% of income earners and do very little for everyone else.

I began by talking about the bad, and there is a lot of it, but now I would like to talk about the good, and one key measure that we support in this budget. I am talking about dropping the contribution limit for tax-free savings accounts, or TFSAs, from $10,000 to $5,500. We regard TFSAs as a useful tool for saving, and they should be used for that purpose. However, what the previous Conservative government proposed, raising the contribution limit to $10,000, is very harmful to Canada's public finances and does very little to help taxpayers and investors who want to use that tool.

This is because anyone can open a TFSA, and among those who can afford to do so, only 7% are contributing the maximum at this time. This measure is extremely costly. The numbers speak for themselves. In 2020, if the limit stays at $10,000—and it could even be indexed later on—it is estimated that it will cost the Canadian treasury $2.3 billion, all for a single investment tool that benefits only a small minority of Canadians. In 2030, 10 years later, the lost revenue or tax expenditures are estimated to be $9 billion. In fact, the parliamentary budget officer, whose job it is to study the impact this would have on the Canadian treasury, went as far as to say that in the medium term—I am talking about 2040-50, since the horizon might well extend that far ahead—tax expenditures, which is income lost by the Canadian government, will account for nearly 0.7% of GDP.

I would like to point out that this House is not budging and that previous governments did not budge on the issue of international aid and reaching the target, which was set at 0.7% of GDP under the agreements. The previous government considered it to be too costly to move forward on that. We were never even close to the 0.7% target. According to the parliamentary budget officer, with the TFSA alone we would reach 0.7% of GDP in foregone revenues, those revenues that would no longer be paid to the Canadian government, by 2040-2050. The TFSA is a savings vehicle that we fully support. However, if we were to head in the direction that the Conservative government proposed, it is a measure that could be extremely debilitating for Canada's fiscal capacity and its ability to provide the quality programs and services that Canadians expect.

As I was saying, the TFSA is a beneficial savings vehicle. The $5,500 contribution limit, indexed to inflation in $500 increments when this amount is reached, is quite adequate. Only 7% of Canadians currently contribute the maximum. If we look at just individuals who have already opened a TFSA, only 17% of them contribute the maximum. Increasing the contribution limit will only help the 17% who already contribute the maximum. Thus, this is a very expensive measure that very few people take advantage of.

If I am dwelling on the tax-free savings account, it is probably because outside of the tax cut in Bill C-2, it is the key issue in terms of finances. The TFSA is a useful tool for promoting savings and a tax shelter appreciated by those who use it properly. However, it could also become a means of tax avoidance, and that is what we must prevent.

I say that, because when we are talking about $10,000, which will one day be indexed, a lot of Canadians see the tax-free savings account as an account where they put after-tax money, which will yield non-taxable interest. They can then withdraw that money as they see fit, which is not a bad thing. However, what these people often do not know is that you can put many things other than cash in these accounts. You can put in stocks or financial instruments, and anyone who can afford it can put up to $10,000 in stocks, for example, into a tax-free savings account and enjoy capital gains that will not be taxed within that account.

Right now, 50% of capital gains are taxed, at a rate of about 40%. The TFSA can be an attractive vehicle for those who want to avoid paying tax on capital gains and are able to contribute up to the limit of $10,000, in which case they do not really need to save.

In that sense, the TFSA can be useful for Canadians, and that is why we support it. However, we want to prevent these accounts from becoming a way for people to avoid paying taxes, and that is why we oppose increasing the contribution limit to $10,000. We think that the $5,500 limit is a perfectly adequate way of helping Canadians who want to ensure their future financial security.

Let us remember that there are also other savings vehicles, such as RRSPs. These private savings are one of the main ways to ensure one's financial security. Others include company pensions, the Canada pension plan, the Quebec pension plan, and old age security, which can be supplemented with the guaranteed income supplement.

If we tally the good and bad points that I talked about earlier, it is clear that the Liberals' decision to reduce taxes for the richest 20% and increase them for the richest 1% is not an appropriate measure if the government really wants to help the middle class.

Eventually, under an NDP government, there will be a way to review this decision and really help the middle class. We are extending an olive branch to the government here, because the other thing that could be done is to make the necessary changes in committee so that we can come back to the House and adopt a measure that will really help the middle class.

We are therefore going to resubmit this proposal in committee for review. It is largely based on the excellent work done by the parliamentary budget officer.

Lowering the TFSA limit is extremely important from a tax perspective in order to ensure that the Canadian government can offer these services, function properly, and ultimately, or so we hope, make significant reinvestments in areas where the Conservatives cut funding to the bone or even deeper.

That is why we will support the bill at second reading. We hope the government and its members will be willing to listen in our committee meetings. This would eventually open the door to amending the provision to lower taxes for the richest 20% of Canadians and instead helping 80% of Canadians, many of whom are getting nothing right now. Of course we will support the second measure, which is to lower the contribution limit for TFSAs.

This is the first bill introduced in this new Parliament. I truly hope the government will take a new approach. I think all parliamentarians have already noticed a change in tone and dynamics, which is very much appreciated. However, after four years of hearing meaningless slogans and catchphrases to try to justify things that are simply not supported by the facts, we might still be in for another four long years.

This morning, when the Minister of Finance introduced Bill C-2 and delivered his speech justifying the tax cut, I was hoping he would at least understand or acknowledge the auditing work done by the parliamentary budget officer, but that was not the case.

I wish he would accept a fact that has been proven over and over. The middle class will not benefit from these measures; only the richest 20% will. The facts prove it. The parliamentary budget officer proved it, and we ourselves proved it before the report was released. He wants to stay the course and perpetuate the myth that the middle class will benefit. This is a snow job.

A lot of Canadians are going to be surprised and disappointed when they fill out their income tax returns. They thought they voted for a party, the Liberal Party of Canada, that would give them a tax cut, but they are going to find out that they are not eligible. A good 80% of people will find out that this does not apply to them. I predict some nasty hangovers for them.

I sincerely hope that the government will pay more attention to the opposition parties, especially when we are trying to help by suggesting improvements that should help the government achieve its goals. I would like it to say so publicly.

The most disappointing thing about the Minister of Finance's speech is the fact that he is trying to deal with the problem by sending up yet another smokescreen. We have not yet seen the Canada child tax benefit, which is really just going to be a remix of existing programs. That is still nothing but a promise.

The fact is that only couples with children and single-parent families will benefit from this money. Those people will be happy to get some extra money. Couples without children, singles without children, and seniors, even the poorest of them, even those who earn, say, $45,000, $30,000, $20,000, or $10,000, will get nothing. They will not get a tax cut, nor will they benefit from the Liberals' upcoming measure.

I would like the Liberal government to be consistent, to respect the Canadian public, and to tell the truth about the real impact of the measures it is introducing. This was the government's first opportunity to do so. I think it has missed its opportunity, but it will have another chance in committee. I hope that the government will be listening. If the government continues in this direction, I think that the next four years will be very long and full of hype, catch phrases, and empty rhetoric, but very thin in terms of measures that will truly help Canadians, especially middle-class Canadians and those with such low incomes that they struggle to make ends meet.

I look forward to questions from my colleagues in the House, but I want to reiterate that we will support the bill at second reading, because it maintains the TFSA contribution limit at $5,500, which has considerable tax implications, and we will try to make changes to the bill in committee.